Converting paper invoice to electronic form for processing of electronic payment thereof

ABSTRACT

Remote processing of paper invoices online is described. In an aspect, a device can receive an electronic image representative of an invoice associated with a user of the device and a payee, send the electronic image of the invoice to an online accounting system, wherein the online accounting system converts the electronic image of the invoice into an electronic form, access accounts associated with the user of the device, accessing the electronic form of the invoice, and authorize payment of the invoice, including authorization of an electronic transfer of money from at least one of the accounts to the payee. A list of payees can also be received, and the payee can be selected from the list of payees. The selection of the payee can be sent to the online accounting system, which links the payee to the invoice.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No.13/226,177, filed Sep. 6, 2011, and entitled “CONVERTING PAPER INVOICETO ELECTRONIC FORM FOR PROCESSING OF ELECTRONIC PAYMENT THEREOF,” theentirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates generally to facilitating electronic moneytransfer including remote payment of paper invoices via an electronicmoney transfer service.

BACKGROUND

Rather than receiving paper bills, many individuals have begun to paytheir bills online. For example, companies generally provide customersan option to pay their bills online at a website set up by the companyor an affiliated billing service provider. Paying bills onlinefacilitates efficient money transfer from any location, eliminates paperwaste and physical mailing restrictions, eliminates manual processing,enables automatic payments, and provides accessible electronic billingrecords. However, many small organizations are not capable of generatingelectronic invoices and therefore continue to print and send paperinvoices to clients.

Given the general shift towards paying bills online, it is inconvenientfor those consumers who are paying their bills online to receive paperbills. With paper bills, the individual loses the many advantages ofonline billing. For example, the consumer loses the advantage of keepinga single electronic accounting system for all bills. Now the individualmust resort to storing paper records of bills. Further, the consumermust employ conventional mailing systems including postage requirementsand billing delays.

The above-described deficiencies of paper billing systems are merelyintended to provide an overview of some of problems of currenttechnology, and are not intended to be exhaustive. Other problems withthe state of the art, and corresponding benefits of some of the variousnon-limiting embodiments described herein, may become further apparentupon review of the following detailed description.

SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary to provide a basicunderstanding of some aspects described herein. This summary is not anextensive overview of the disclosed subject matter. It is not intendedto identify key or critical elements of the disclosed subject matter, ordelineate the scope of the subject disclosure. Its sole purpose is topresent some concepts of the disclosed subject matter in a simplifiedform as a prelude to the more detailed description presented later.

To correct for the above noted deficiencies of conventional billingtechniques and other drawbacks of offline invoicing technologies,methods, and apparatus described employ dynamic product context dataand/or social activity data related to the product to generate productrecommendations. For example, a device is provided comprising a memorythat stores computer-executable components, including an invoice imagecomponent configured to receive an electronic image representative of aninvoice associated with a user of the device and a payee, acommunication component configured to send the electronic image of theinvoice to an external accounting system, wherein the externalaccounting system converts the electronic image of the invoice into anelectronic form, an account management component configured to accessaccounts associated with the user of the device and further configuredto access the electronic form of the invoice, a transaction componentconfigured to authorize payment of the invoice, including authorizingelectronic transfer of money from at least one of the accounts to thepayee, and a processor that facilitates execution of at least one of theinvoice image component, the communication component, the accountmanagement component, or the transaction component. In an aspect, thedevice can include a payee component configured to receive a list ofpayees and send a selection of the payee from the list of payees to theexternal accounting system, wherein the external accounting system isconfigured to link the payee to the invoice.

In another aspect, provided is a system comprising a memory that storescomputer-executable components, including a registration componentconfigured to register a device associated with a user of an onlineaccounting system, a data storage configured to store informationregarding accounts associated with the user, an invoice image componentconfigured to receive from the device, an electronic imagerepresentative of an invoice associated with the user and a payee, aconversion component configured to convert the electronic image of theinvoice into an electronic form, an account management componentconfigured to post the electronic form of the invoice to the onlineaccounting system and provide the user access to the electronic form ofthe invoice, a transaction component configured to process payment ofthe invoice, including transfer of money from at least one of theaccounts to the payee, and a processor that facilitates execution of atleast one of the registration component, the invoice image component,the communication component, the account management component, or thetransaction component. In an aspect, the system further comprise a payeecomponent configured to provide a list of payees to the device, receivea selection of the payee from the list of payees, and link the payee tothe invoice.

In addition, provided is a method comprising receiving by a computingdevice, an electronic image representative of an invoice associated witha user of the device and a payee, sending the electronic image of theinvoice to an online accounting system, wherein the online accountingsystem converts the electronic image of the invoice into an electronicform, accessing accounts associated with the user of the device,accessing the electronic form of the invoice, and authorizing payment ofthe invoice, including authorizing electronic transfer of money from atleast one of the accounts to the payee. The method can further includereceiving a list of payees, selecting the payee from the list of payees,and sending the selection of the payee to the online accounting system,wherein the online accounting system links the payee to the invoice.

Further, provided is a method comprising registering a computing deviceassociated with a user of an online accounting system with the onlineaccounting system, storing information regarding accounts associatedwith the user, receiving from the computing device, an electronic imagerepresentative of an invoice associated with the user and a payee,converting the electronic image of the invoice into an electronic form,posting the electronic form of the invoice to the online accountingsystem, providing the user access to the electronic form of the invoice,and processing payment of the invoice, including transferring money fromat least one of the accounts to the payee.

A system is also provided comprising means for receiving by a computingdevice, an electronic image representative of an invoice associated witha user of the device and a payee, means for sending the electronic imageof the invoice to an online accounting system, wherein the onlineaccounting system converts the electronic image of the invoice into anelectronic form, means for accessing accounts associated with the userof the device, means for accessing the electronic form of the invoice,and means for authorizing payment of the invoice, including authorizingelectronic transfer of money from at least one of the accounts to thepayee.

In another aspect, a system is provided comprising means for registeringa computing device associated with a user of an online accounting systemwith the online accounting system, means for storing informationregarding accounts associated with the user, means for receiving fromthe computing device, an electronic image representative of an invoiceassociated with the user and a payee, means for converting theelectronic image of the invoice into an electronic form, means forposting the electronic form of the invoice to the online accountingsystem, means for providing the user access to the electronic form ofthe invoice, and means for processing payment of the invoice, includingtransferring money from at least one of the accounts to the payee.

The following description and the annexed drawings set forth in detailcertain illustrative aspects of the disclosed subject matter. Theseaspects are indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways inwhich the principles of the innovation may be employed. The disclosedsubject matter is intended to include all such aspects and theirequivalents. Other advantages and distinctive features of the disclosedsubject matter will become apparent from the following detaileddescription of the innovation when considered in conjunction with thedrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments of the subject disclosureare described with reference to the following figures, wherein likereference numerals refer to like parts throughout the various viewsunless otherwise specified.

FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of a remote money transfer system100, in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a billing service application inaccordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of a bill processing component of abilling service/server in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 4 presents a flow chart of a processes processing payment of apaper invoice in accordance to an embodiment.

FIG. 5 presents a method for processing a paper bill in an electronicform at a user device in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 6 presents a method for processing a paper bill in an electronicform at a billing service/server in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 7 presents a flow chart of a processes processing payment of apaper invoice in accordance to an embodiment.

FIG. 8 presents a method for processing a paper bill in an electronicform at a user device in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 9 presents a method for processing a paper bill in an electronicform at a billing service/server in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 10 presents a flow chart of a processes processing payment of apaper invoice in accordance to an embodiment.

FIG. 11 presents a method for processing a paper bill in an electronicform at a user device in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 12 presents a method for processing a paper bill in an electronicform at a billing service/server in accordance with an embodiment.

FIG. 13 illustrates a block diagram representing exemplary non-limitingnetworked environments in which various non-limiting embodimentsdescribed herein can be implemented.

FIG. 14 illustrates a block diagram representing an exemplarynon-limiting computing user computing device in which one or moreaspects of various non-limiting embodiments described herein can beimplemented.

FIG. 15 illustrates a block diagram representing an exemplarynon-limiting computing system or operating environment in which one ormore aspects of various non-limiting embodiments described herein can beimplemented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth toprovide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. One skilled in therelevant art will recognize, however, that the techniques describedherein can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, orwith other methods, components, materials, etc. In other instances,well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown ordescribed in detail to avoid obscuring certain aspects.

Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” or “anembodiment,” means that a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic described in connection with the embodiment is includedin at least one embodiment. Thus, the appearances of the phrase “in oneembodiment,” or “in an embodiment,” in various places throughout thisspecification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics maybe combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

As utilized herein, terms “component,” “system,” “interface,” and thelike are intended to refer to a computer-related entity, hardware,software (e.g., in execution), and/or firmware. For example, a componentcan be a processor, a process running on a processor, an object, anexecutable, a program, a storage device, and/or a computer. By way ofillustration, an application running on a server and the server can be acomponent. One or more components can reside within a process, and acomponent can be localized on one computer and/or distributed betweentwo or more computers.

Further, these components can execute from various computer readablemedia having various data structures stored thereon. The components cancommunicate via local and/or remote processes such as in accordance witha signal having one or more data packets (e.g., data from one componentinteracting with another component in a local system, distributedsystem, and/or across a network, e.g., the Internet, a local areanetwork, a wide area network, etc. with other systems via the signal).

As another example, a component can be an apparatus with specificfunctionality provided by mechanical parts operated by electric orelectronic circuitry; the electric or electronic circuitry can beoperated by a software application or a firmware application executed byone or more processors; the one or more processors can be internal orexternal to the apparatus and can execute at least a part of thesoftware or firmware application. As yet another example, a componentcan be an apparatus that provides specific functionality throughelectronic components without mechanical parts; the electroniccomponents can include one or more processors therein to executesoftware and/or firmware that confer(s), at least in part, thefunctionality of the electronic components. In an aspect, a componentcan emulate an electronic component via a virtual machine, e.g., withina cloud computing system.

The word “exemplary” and/or “demonstrative” is used herein to meanserving as an example, instance, or illustration. For the avoidance ofdoubt, the subject matter disclosed herein is not limited by suchexamples. In addition, any aspect or design described herein as“exemplary” and/or “demonstrative” is not necessarily to be construed aspreferred or advantageous over other aspects or designs, nor is it meantto preclude equivalent exemplary structures and techniques known tothose of ordinary skill in the art. Furthermore, to the extent that theterms “includes,” “has,” “contains,” and other similar words are used ineither the detailed description or the claims, such terms are intendedto be inclusive—in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as an opentransition word—without precluding any additional or other elements.

In addition, the disclosed subject matter can be implemented as amethod, apparatus, or article of manufacture using standard programmingand/or engineering techniques to produce software, firmware, hardware,or any combination thereof to control a computer to implement thedisclosed subject matter. The term “article of manufacture” as usedherein is intended to encompass a computer program accessible from anycomputer-readable device, computer-readable carrier, orcomputer-readable media. For example, computer-readable media caninclude, but are not limited to, a magnetic storage device, e.g., harddisk; floppy disk; magnetic strip(s); an optical disk (e.g., compactdisk (CD), a digital video disc (DVD), a Blu-ray Disc™ (BD)); a smartcard; a flash memory device (e.g., card, stick, key drive); and/or avirtual device that emulates a storage device and/or any of the abovecomputer-readable media.

Referring now to FIG. 1, illustrated is a block diagram of a remotemoney transfer system 100, in accordance with an embodiment. Aspects ofmoney transfer system 100, and systems, other apparatus, and processesexplained herein can constitute machine-executable instructions embodiedwithin machine(s), e.g., embodied in one or more computer readablemediums (or media) associated with one or more machines. Suchinstructions, when executed by the one or more machines, e.g.,computer(s), computing device(s), virtual machine(s), etc. can cause themachine(s) to perform the operations described.

As seen in FIG. 1, money transfer system 100 includes a user device 102and a billing service/server 114. As used herein a “user” includes anindividual associated with a client device who uses at least one featureof the billing service 114. A user device 102 can include a mobiledevice or a stationary device. For example, in an aspect, user device102 can be a device such as a cellular telephone, a PDA with mobilecommunications capabilities, and messaging-centric devices. In anotheraspect, user device 102 can include a home personal computer (PC).Billing service/server can include one or more computers, applications,or systems configured to implement a billing protocol that facilitateselectronic transfer of money between entities.

As seen in FIG. 1, user device 102 can include a memory 104, a processor106, a communication component 108, a billing service application 110,and a bill image component 112. Memory 104 holds instructions forcarrying out the operations of the communication component 108, billingservice application 110, and bill image component 112, when executed byprocessor 606. The processor facilitates controlling and processing allonboard operations and functions of the user device 102. Memory 104interfaces to the processor 106 for storage of data and one or moreapplications of the user device. The applications can be stored in thememory 104 and/or in a firmware, and executed by the processor 106 fromeither or both the memory 104 or/and the firmware (not shown).

Bill image component 112 is configured to generate an image of a bill orinvoice. For example, in an aspect bill image component include acamera. According to this aspect, a user can employ the camera to take asnapshot of a paper bill. In another aspect, bill image component caninclude a scanner and/or drivers and software associated with anexternal scanner. According to this aspect, a user can scan a copy of apaper bill and receive the scanned image at the user device 102. In anaspect the user device can include a display screen, (not shown) fordisplaying images of bills that are generated either via a camera or ascanner. According to this aspect a user can physically determinewhether the image of the bill produced by the bill image component 112is discernable (i.e, clear, not blurry or skewed). Still in yet anotheraspect, bill image component can be configured to receive an image of abill as a communicated message. For example, the bill image componentcan retrieve a picture of a bill received as an email attachment orreceived as an attachment via sent via multi-media message service.

Communication component 108 is configured to enable communication ofinformation to and from user device 102. In an embodiment, communicationcomponent 108 is configured to send an image of a bill to billingservice/server 114. Communication component 108 interfaces to theprocessor 106 to facilitate wired/wireless communication with externalsystems, e.g., cellular networks, VoIP networks, and so on. Thecommunication component 108 can also include a suitable cellulartransceiver (e.g., a GSM transceiver) and an unlicensed transceiver(e.g., WiFi, WiMax) for corresponding signal communications. Thecommunication component 108 also facilitates communications receptionfrom terrestrial radio networks (e.g., broadcast), digital satelliteradio networks, and Internet-based radio services networks.

Billing service application 110 can include one or more components thatfacilitate processing of images of bills captured by bill imagingcomponent 112. In an aspect, the billing service application 110 issupported by external billing service/server 114. The features ofbilling service/server 114 and billing service application 110 aredescribed in detail supra. In general, billing service applicationenables a user to perform electronic management of accounts and transferof money via user device 102. In particular, billing service application110 enables payment of bills over a wide area network, including billsthat are not associated with an electronic form. For example, billingservice application 110 enables integration of paper bills into anelectronic accounting/billing system through employment of billingservice/server 114.

According to an embodiment, billing service application 110 facilitatessingle point online personal funds management. A user can employ billingservice application 110 to create a single account which associatesnumerous accounts for the user related to transfer of money. Forexample, accounts can include personal banking accounts, creditaccounts, or creditor accounts. In an aspect, a first account and asecond account can be different types of accounts, such as a savingsaccount, a checking account, a credit card account, a loan account, orthe like. Additionally, the first account and the second account can beassociated with different institutions (banks). For example, the firstaccount can be a checking account from Bank of America, while the secondaccount can be a Visa card from Capital One. The account managementcomponent 102 can create a single location from which a user can accessvarious accounts with user device 102. Accordingly, the user no longerneeds to go to separate websites to access account information, like awebsite for bank account information and a separate website for creditcard information.

In an embodiment, billing service application acts as an electronicwallet that allows a user to affiliate bank accounts, credit accounts,debit accounts, and the like. In an aspect, in order to unify accounts,a user must first register with billing service/server. As describedinfra, billing service/server can be affiliated with a Unified ChargingSystem so that when the user creates an account with the UnifiedCharging System and affiliates banking accounts with the UnifiedCharging System, when the user visits an e-commerce site with a UnifiedCharging System plug-in, the user can be presented with an option to paywith the Unified Charging System account.

In another example, a user can register with the Unified Charging Systemand affiliate multiple accounts, such as bank accounts, credit cards,loans, bills, and the like. To affiliate an account, a user can enterrequired details (account number, provider information, and the like)and sign any required release. After affiliation, the billing serviceapplication 110 can allow a user to view an account balance, recenttransactions, pay bills, and the like, all in a single place with nomanual entrances of transactions. Additionally, the billing serviceapplication facilitates transfers of money between accounts. Forexample, as described infra, with user device 102, a user can employbilling service application 110 to transfer money to an entity providingonly a paper bill by linking an image or the paper bill to a unifiedaccount.

As noted above, billing service/server 114 can include one or morecomputers configured to implement a billing protocol that facilitateselectronic transfer of money between entities. For example, in anaspect, billing service includes a server computer. The server 114 caninclude a memory 116, a processor 118, a communication component 120, abill processing component 122, and a bill conversion component 120.Memory 116 holds instructions for carrying out the operations of thecommunication component 120, the bill processing component 122, and thebill conversion component 124, when executed by processor 118. Theprocessor facilitates controlling and processing all onboard operationsand functions of the server 114. Memory 116 interfaces to the processor118 for storage of data and one or more applications of the billingserver 114. The applications can be stored in the memory 116 and/or in afirmware, and executed by the processor 118 from either or both thememory 116 or/and the firmware (not shown).

Communication component 120 is configured to enable communication ofinformation to and from billing service/server 114. It should beappreciated that communication component 120 is not restricted to asingle component. For example, where billing service/server includesmultiple computers, each of the computers can include a communicationscomponent to facilitate communication between devices integrated withinthe billing service as well as user devices. In an embodiment,communication component 120 is configured to receive an image of a billfrom a user device 102. Communication component 120 interfaces to theprocessor 118 to facilitate wired/wireless communication with externalsystems, e.g., cellular networks, VoIP networks, and so on. Thecommunication component 120 can also include a suitable cellulartransceiver (e.g., a GSM transceiver) and an unlicensed transceiver(e.g., WiFi, WiMax) for corresponding signal communications. Thecommunication component 120 also facilitates communications receptionfrom terrestrial radio networks (e.g., broadcast), digital satelliteradio networks, and Internet-based radio services networks.

According to an embodiment, billing service/server 114 enableselectronic transfer of money to and from accounts associated with auser. In an aspect, a user can register with billing service/server.Bill processing component 122 is configured enable electronic transferof money between entities and user accounts. Bill processing component122 receives a request to transform money from a first account to asecond account where at least the first account is associated with aregistered user. In an aspect, the request is associated with a bill.For example a user may desire to pay bills online. According to thisaspect, payment of a bill online includes an electronic form of billingas opposed to a paper form of billing. A user can view bills associatedwith accounts in electronic form, for example using billing serviceapplication 110 on her user device. The user can then submit a requestfor payment or processing of the bill from a designated user account.The bill processing component 122 receives the request and enablestransfer of money from the designated user account to the payee (theentity to whom money is owed or paid). In another aspect a user canrequest recurring payments of online bills.

Bill conversion component 124 is configured to receive an image of abill and generate an electronic form of the bill. In particular, billconversion component 124 is configured to receive an image of a bill andcreate an electronic form of the bill so that a user can manage paymentof the paper bill electronically. As noted above, bill conversioncomponent can receive images of bills from a user device taken as apicture or snapshot via a camera, or as a scanned image. In an aspect,bill conversion component 124 interprets aspects of a bill image intofields. For example, bill conversion component can recognize charactersof text and interpret the textual characters. According to this aspect,bill conversion component can associate interpreted text with fields. Itshould be appreciated that bill conversion component can be configuredto recognize a variety of fields including but not limited to, item(s)purchased, item number, item quantity, description of the item, unitprice, total balance, applicable discounts, sales tax, date of purchase,due date, terms and conditions, method of delivery or pick up, accountnumber, account provider, and payee.

Bill conversion component 124 is further configured to generate anelectronic form of a received image bill comprising recognized fieldsand link the electronic form of the bill to a user. For example, in anaspect bill conversion component 124 is configured to identify a useraccount associated with a received bill image and associate anelectronic form of the bill with a user account. In addition, billconversion component 124 can be configured to present bill processingcomponent with information gathered by converting the image of the billinto electronic form. The information can be employed by the billprocessing component 122 to define fields associated with the convertedbill. For example, the bill conversion component can be configured tosupply the bill processing component with any of the above noted fieldsbut not limited to, item(s) purchased, item number, item quantity,description of the item, unit price, total balance, applicablediscounts, sales tax, date of purchase, due date, terms and conditions,method of delivery or pick up, account number, account provider, andpayee. Once the bill conversion component 124 converts an image of abill into electronic form, the bill processing component 122 isconfigured to link the electronic form of the bill to a user account forprocessing, recording, or account management.

Referring now to FIG. 2, presented is a schematic block diagram ofbilling service application 110 of FIG. 1. As seen in FIG. 2, billingservice application can include a registration component 202, accountmanagement component 204, transaction component 206, authorizationcomponent 208, payee component 210, and paper bill component 212.Billing service application 110 is configured to provide a variety ofapplications to a user associated with electronic accounting. Inparticular, billing service application 110 enables a user of a remotedevice to perform electronic money transfers between entities affiliatedwith the remote device. In addition, billing service application enablesa user to unify a variety of accounts so that each account can beaccessed and managed from a single website. In an aspect, informationregarding the plurality of user accounts is collected, stored, sortedand updated at remote billing service/server 114. In an aspect, billingservice/server employs a database 216 to compile and store informationregarding accounts and user profiles. Database 216 is depicted asexternal from billing service application and bill service/server 114,however it should be appreciated that database 216 can be included withbill service/server 114.

According to an embodiment, in order to employ billing serviceapplication 110, a user must download the application to a user device.In another aspect, the user device can be preconfigured with the billingservice application 110. Once the billing service application 110 isinstalled on a user device, in an aspect, in order to employ billingservice application, a user must register with the billingservice/server 114. Registration component 202 is configured enable userregistration with billing service/server 114. In an aspect, in order toregister with billing service/server, a user must establish a userprofile. At a basic level, in order to establish a profile, a user cancreate a user name and password. In an aspect, each time a user desiresto employ billing service application 110 a user can login throughregistration component 110 by providing a her username and password. Inanother aspect, registration can include associating a user device to aprofile. For example, a user can register his or her device through avariety of identification tags, including a cell phone number, cell ID,or IP address. According to another aspect, registration component 202can require a user to provide a variety of personal information about auser to supplement a user profile. For example, the user profile caninclude user identification information, user address, user socialsecurity information, driver's license number, etc. User profileinformation can be employed by authorization component 208 to ensureauthorization of user account transactions and user account access.

Account management component 204 is configured to enable a user to linkone or more accounts to a user profile. As used herein, an accountrefers to a record of assets had and debts owed to an entity includinganother individual, a company, a partnership, or the like. In addition,account management component enables a user to manage all linkedaccounts from a single online management location. In an aspect a useremploy account management component 204 to link personal bankingaccounts including checking accounts and savings accounts as well ascredit accounts from different institutions his or her profile. A usercan maintain separate account information and separate accounts for eachinstitution and account type and access each account via billing serviceapplication at a single website. According to this aspect, a user cantransfer funds between accounts, observe account activity and history,and employ any on the accounts in online transactions and bill pay. Inanother embodiment, account management component 204 can enable a userto link multiple banking accounts into a Unified Charging System.

In addition to personal banking accounts, account management component204 can enable a user to link creditor account to his or her profile. Asused herein, a creditor account includes an account associated with anentity to which the user owes or provides money. For example, a creditoraccount can include a friend, a utility company, a retail store, a loanprovider, a school, or a service provider. In an aspect, a user canemploy account management component 204 to specify creditor accountinformation and link one or more personal banking accounts to a creditoraccount for payment of creditors. Bills associated with each linkedcreditor can be managed and viewed with account management component204. Accordingly, a user can view account history associated with acreditor account including, activity, due dates, balances, promotions,and etc.

The account management component 204 can have functionality similar tothat of an automatic teller machine (ATM). The account managementcomponent 204 can display prompts similar to an ATM interface thatallows a user to select options including viewing an account balance,viewing recent transactions, paying bills, and the like, but differentfrom an ATM, the account management component 204 allows a user to vieweach of these options from multiple accounts (e.g., the first accountand the second account). The account management component 204 can alsoallow a user to select an option to transfer money between accountsmanaged by the account management component 204 (i.e registered withbilling service/server). The account management component 204 canprovide further options that facilitate selection of functionalitiesprovided for multiple accounts managed by the account managementcomponent 204. In addition, the account management component 204 canenable a user to transfer money between a registered account and anon-registered account.

In another aspect, account management component 204 can be configured toenable a user to specify rules and regulations governing transactionsassociated with accounts. For example, a user can schedule payments on aroutine basis, define a hierarchy of banking accounts to draw from,define parameters for notification of fund levels and transactions,define automatic payment plans, provide authorization for access toaccounts or provide parameters for authorization of transactions. Itshould be appreciated that a variety of types of account managementactions and regulations can be employed by account management component204 in accordance with aspects of the subject disclosure.

Transaction component 206 is configured to enable a user to transferfunds from banking accounts to creditors. In an aspect, when a userdesires to transfer funds, a user employs transaction component 206. Inan embodiment, a user can employ transaction component when desiring topay bills. Each time a user desires to pay a bill, a user can request atransaction. Transaction component 206 allows a user to specify whataccount to draw from and what creditor to send money to. In an aspect, auser can set up automatic requests for transactions by definingconditions for transactions via account management component. Forexample, a user can request a transaction comprising transferring $50from account X to entity Y on the first of every month if there aresufficient funds in account X, and if there are insufficient funds inaccount X, to provide the user with a notification.

Transaction component 206 can perform action related to a first accountor the second account and creditor or payee. For example, thetransaction component 206 can enable setting up a payment to a firstaccount or a second account to the payee. Payment can be establishedthrough an online transaction from a checking account, savings account,or credit card to a payee, such as AT&T. The action can also includesetting up a payment that is split between accounts to the payee. Forexample, a bill can be $100 from AT&T, and $75 can be transferred from achecking account to AT&T, $15 can be transferred from a savings accountto AT&T, and $10 can be transferred from a credit card to AT&T. Also, ina similar way, transaction component 206 can facilitate transactionsbetween “friends,” “family,” “business associates,” and the like, whomay have accounts at different banks and whose account number may not beknown or shared.

Authorization component 208 provides authorization for transactions. Forexample, although a user may request a transaction, a transaction maynot be authorized for a variety of reasons. For example, a user may haveinsufficient funds to complete the transaction. In another aspect, auser may have specified regulations requiring providing of additionalpasswords or user information for verifying security of certaintransactions. According to this aspect, in order to authorize atransaction, a user may need to provide secure information prior toauthorizing a transaction. In another aspect, a user can definedifferent rules for authorization requirements for different types oftransactions. For example, a user can specify that a transaction isauthorized for immediate processing upon request. In an aspect asdiscussed supra, a request can include sending of a bill image tobilling service/server. Once a user requests a transaction and thetransaction is authorized, billing service/server processes thetransaction request.

Payee component 210 is configured to enable a user to specify a creditoror payee, to whom they desire to provide money in a transaction. In anaspect, a user can define a list of payee's to associate with theirprofile and store the list in database 216. For example, the list ofpayee's can be stored at a user device 102, at the billingservice/server 114, or at a remote storage location and made accessibleto the user through billing application 110. The database 216 of payee'scan include account information for each of the payee's whichfacilitates transfer of money into an account associated with the payee.For example, the list of payee's can include a name of the payee and alocation of the payee. The payee information can further include aunique identifier that associates a user with a payee account. Forexample, a user may be identified to a service provider by a name, asocial security number, an account number assigned by the serviceprovider, or a phone number. It should be appreciated that a variety ofidentifiers can be employed that are in accordance with the scope of thesubject disclosure. Accordingly, when a user completes a transaction,the payee can clearly identify that a particular individual or entityhas satisfied his or her monetary obligations.

In an aspect, in order to generate a list of payees and associatebilling information for a user thereto, a user can manually enter thepayee information and save the information in database 216. Afterinitial registration of a payee, the user can merely select the payeefrom a saved list when desiring to perform a transaction with the payee.By selecting a specific payee, all information required for processingof payment for a user account associated with the payee is transferredto billing service/server 114. Billing service/server 114 can thenprocess the payment.

In another aspect, payee component 210 can allow a user to enter orselect a new payee not previously associated with a user profile and/ornot previously stored in account database 216. According to this aspect,the payee component 210 can allow a user to search for and select apayee to provide payment to. Payee component 210 can utilize a suitablesearch engine to discover possible payees. The search engine employedcan search entities whom have a registered profile stored in database216 whom may or may not be associated with a particular user as well asentities whom do not have profiles registered with billingservice/server 114. In an aspect, the user can employ payee component210 to enter a type of payee in a search engine. Based on the type ofpayee, the payee component 210 can display a list of a plurality ofpayees that satisfy the type. The type can be any quality of a payee,such as a service type, a location, a name, and the like. For example,the type of payee could be “cable provider,” and the selection componentcan display a list including “Time Warner,” “Cox,” “AT&T,” “Verizon,”and “DishNetwork.” The type can include more than a single type.

A second type can filter the list further. According to the previousexample, a second type can be “Strongsville, Ohio.” The list can befiltered to remove “Verizon” and “Cox” from the list because “Verizon”and “Cox” are not cable providers in Strongsville, Ohio. The list wouldthen include “Time Warner,” “AT&T,” and “DishNetwork.” The payeecomponent 210 can then receive a selection of one or more of theplurality of payees. The selection can be based, for example, onservices provide to a user. According to the previous example, a usercan select “AT&T” from the list because the user receives AT&T U-Versecable services and owes AT&T a payment for services provided. The typesearched by the payee can also be “friend,” “family,” “businessassociate,” or the like. For example, the payee component can allow auser to enter a name of an individual or entity. The payee component canthen find the payee and display a list of possible payees to the user.The user can then select a payee from the list. Still, the payeecomponent 210 can allow a user to search for a payee by any type ofkeyword.

In an embodiment, a user can select a payee from a generated searchlist. The user may not know if the payee is correct or whether they havean account with the payee. In an aspect, the payee component candetermine whether a user does in fact have an account with a particularpayee already in existence. For example, the payee component 210 canverify that phone number 216-223-3798 has an account with cable serviceX. The payee component 210 can then notify the user that a match wasdetermined and allow the user to import payee account information. Stillin yet another aspect, where a match is not determined, the payeecomponent can notify a user that an account does not exist associating auser with a payee. The payee component 210 can then enable a user to setup a new account.

In another aspect, a payee may not need to set up an account with apayee to perform transaction. A user may merely need to know where tosend a user the money. According to this aspect, by selecting a payeefrom a generated list, the payee component can determine payee accountinformation to which the payee desires to have money transferred.Accordingly a user can simply select a payee from a list and transfermoney to the payee following selection without the burden of enteringaccount information for the payee. For example, a user can desire totransfer money to Joe Smith. The user can search for Joe Smith andselect Joe Smith. By selecting Joe Smith, any necessary information fortransferring money to Joe Smith is imported by payee component 210. Auser can then employ transaction component 208 to complete a moneytransfer to Joe Smith. In an aspect, Joe Smith can be added to a list ofpayees for a user and thus added to a user's profile and stored forlater transactions.

In an aspect, the payee can be registered with billing service/server114 as with the user. According to this aspect the payee can allow auser to import account information to which to enable a user to transfermoney for that payee. For example, once a user finds a payee, byselecting the payee, the user can anonymously import specific accountinformation about the payee necessary for money transfer to the payee.According to this aspect, the payee can authorize payment to a specificaccount without compromising security of the account. Further, the useris not required to manually input information to associate the payeewith the user for transaction purposes. For example, the user can merelyselect Time Warner Cable from a list searched. If the user has anaccount with Time Warner Cable, the user can merely identify himself byproviding a name, a phone-number, a cell-ID, an IP address, a password,etc. If the user is matched, Time Warner Cable, can allow a user toimport account information from a database associated with Time WarnerCable. In an aspect, where Time Warner cable is registered with billingservice/server 114, the database can be database 216.

In another aspect, a payee may not be registered with billingservice/server 114. Continuing the above example where Time Warner Cableis not registered, the database from which account information for TimeWarner Cable and/or associating Time Warner Cable and a user can be anexternal database made accessible by Time Warner Cable. Still in yetanother aspect, if for example Time Warner Cable did not provide adatabase with account information for importation, payee component 210can employ an artificial intelligence or data mining tool in order toretrieve the information for a user. In the above examples andembodiments, a user does not have to manually input payee accountinformation thus making the task of selecting and transferring money toa payee efficient and straightforward to a user.

In yet another aspect where the payee is not registered with billingservice/server 114, the user can send a request to the payee requestingaccount information. According to this aspect, the user can authorize atransaction to the payee. The billing service/server 114 can in turnattempt to process the transaction by requesting account information forthe payee. According to this aspect, if the payee provides the billingservice/server 114 with account information, the transaction can beperformed. As noted below, with this aspect, transactions betweenentities can be accomplished without requiring registration of payeeswith billing service/server 114.

It should be appreciated that profile information, account information,account management regulations, payee information, and authorizationinformation can be stored at billing service/server 114 in memory. Inanother aspect, account information, account management regulations,payee information, and authorization information can be stored at userdevice 102 in memory 104. Further profile information, accountinformation, account management regulations, payee information, andauthorization information can be stored at an external database 216.

Paper bill component 212 is configured to enable billing serviceapplication 110 to process paper bills. As noted above, a user devicecan include a bill image component 112 that enable a device to receivean image of a paper bill. For example, the image of the paper bill canbe generated by a camera on a user device or a scanner associated withthe user device. In another aspect, the image of the paper bill can bereceived as an email attachment or an attachment to an MMS message orany other type of electronic message. Paper bill component 212 allows auser to request conversion of a paper bill into an electronic form. Inan aspect, a user can employ paper bill component 212 to send an imageof a bill to billing service/server. By sending paper bill image, theuser can request a variety of actions to be performed by the billingservice/server 114. A user can employ account management component 204or paper bill component 212 to specify and define actions associatedwith sending bill images.

According to an embodiment, a can request that the billing server/serversimply process payment of the bill in response to sending. A user canfurther request an electronic receipt to be posted to his or her accountprofile indicating payment of the bill image was processed. In anotheraspect, the user can request that the image of the bill be converted toelectronic form and posted to his or her profile for future payment andmanagement.

In an aspect, a user can employ payee component to 210 to determine thepayee of a paper bill image. For example, a user can employ payeecomponent to select a payee or determine a payee prior to sending thebill image to billing service/server 114. Accordingly, a user canindicate to the billing service/server 114 whom the paper bill isassociated with. When a user indicates the payee prior to sending theimage of the bill to billing service/server 114, the user can authorizeactions for processing that have been pre-determined for a particularpayee. For example, a user can employ account management component 204or payee component 210 to associate rules and regulations governingpayment processing for a particular payee. The regulations can includerouting payment dates and price for example. When the user sends a billimage to billing service/server 114 and also selects a payee for whichregulations are associated, the user in effect makes for processing ofthe bill for the particular payee in accordance with the regulations.

Turning now to FIG. 3, presented is schematic diagram of bill processingcomponent 122. Bill processing component performs one or more of theactions initiated or requested by a user on a user device 102 throughbilling service application 110. For example, as seen in FIG. 3, in anaspect bill processing component includes reciprocal components as thebilling service application, including a registration component 302, anaccount management component 304, a transaction component 306, anauthorization component 308, a payee component 310, and paper billcomponent 312.

Billing processing component 122 is configured to provide perform theactions related to electronic accounting via the billing serviceapplication. In particular, bill processing component actually employsdatabase 216 to perform user registration and authorizations, accountlinking and management, account updating, and electronic money transfersbetween entities and users. As noted above, database 216 is configuredto store information regarding accounts and user profiles. Billprocessing component populates database 216 in response to requeststhrough billing service application and employs database 216 to performthe above noted actions.

According to an embodiment, bill processing component supplies billingservice application 110, to a user device for downloading. Registrationcomponent 302 is configured to request a user to register with billingservice/server 114. In an aspect, in order to register with billingservice/server, a user must establish a user profile. At a basic level,in order to establish a profile, a user can create a user name andpassword in response to a request by registration component 302.Accordingly, registration component 302 is configured to receive logininformation that enables a user to register with and login to, billingservice/server. Registration component is configured to record newlycreated user profiles and login information in database 216.

Account management component 304 is configured to user to link one ormore accounts to a user profile and record the association in database216. For example, a user employ account management component 204 to linkpersonal banking accounts including checking accounts and savingsaccounts as well as credit accounts from different institutions his orher profile. A user can maintain separate account information andseparate accounts for each institution and account type and access eachaccount via billing service application at a single website. In additionto personal banking accounts, account management component 204 canenable a user to link creditor account to his or her profile. In anaspect, a user can employ account management component 204 to specifycreditor account information and link one or more personal bankingaccounts to a creditor account for payment of creditors. Accountmanagement component 304 actually performs the linking by associatingaccounts with user profiles in database 216.

In another aspect, account management component 304 is configured toupdate data associated with user accounts. For example, accountmanagement component 304 is configured to monitor account activity andpresent the account activity to a user for management. Accordingly, auser can view account history associated with a creditor accountincluding, activity, due dates, balances, promotions, and etc.

In another aspect, account management component 304 can be configured toensure rules and regulations governing transactions associated withaccounts are recorded in database 216, updated, and followed. Forexample, a user can employ account management component 204 to schedulepayments on a routine basis, define a hierarchy of banking accounts todraw from, define parameters for notification of fund levels andtransactions, define automatic payment plans, provide authorization foraccess to accounts or provide parameters for authorization oftransactions. It should be appreciated that a variety of types ofaccount management actions and regulations can be employed by accountmanagement component 204 in accordance with aspects of the subjectdisclosure. Account management component 304 monitors transactions andaccounts to ensure rules and regulations are followed. In particular,transaction component 306 and account management component 306, worktogether to perform transactions in accordance with any rules orregulations specified in database 216 for a particular user, account, orpayee.

Transaction component 306 is configured to transfer funds from bankingaccounts to creditors in response to user requests. In an embodiment, auser can employ transaction component 306 when desiring to pay bills.Each time a user desires to pay a bill, a user can request a transactionvia transaction component 206. In turn, transaction component 306executes a transaction by looking up user account information andcreditor information and facilitating a secure electronic transfer offunds between the accounts. In an aspect, transaction component 306retrieves account information stored in database 216. In another aspect,transaction component 306 retrieves account information from entitiesdirectly or from external databases.

For example, transaction component 206 allows a user to specify whataccount to draw from and what creditor to send money to. In an aspect, auser can set up automatic requests for transactions by definingconditions for transactions via account management component. Forexample, a user can request a transaction comprising transferring $50from account X to entity Y on the first of every month if there aresufficient funds in account X, and if there are insufficient funds inaccount X, to provide the user with a notification. Transactioncomponent 306 can perform actions related to a first account or thesecond account and creditor or payee. For example, the transactioncomponent 206 can enable setting up a payment to a first account or asecond account to the payee. Transaction component 306 in turnestablishes payment through an online transaction from a checkingaccount, savings account, or credit card to a payee, such as AT&T.

Authorization component 308 works in conjunction with authorizationcomponent 208 to authorize transactions. For example, authorizationcomponent can look up user information, and database 216 to ensure thata particular transaction is authorized. Although a user may request atransaction, a transaction may not be authorized for a variety ofreasons. For example, a user may have insufficient funds to complete thetransaction. In another aspect, a user may have specified regulationsrequiring providing of additional passwords or user information forverifying security of certain transactions. According to this aspect, inorder to authorize a transaction, a user may need to provide secureinformation prior to authorizing a transaction. In another aspect, auser can define different rules for authorization requirements fordifferent types of transactions. For example, a user can specify that atransaction is authorized for immediate processing upon request. In anaspect as discussed supra, a request can include sending of a bill imageto billing service/server. Authorization component 308 is thereforeconfigured to determine whether requested transactions are authorizedbase on information stored in database 216. In addition, authorizationcomponent 308 is configured to send a user prompts for additionalinformation in order to authorize a transaction. In turn, theauthorization component is configured to receive additional informationabout a user, and account, or a payee, and authorize a transaction basedon the additional information. For example, the authorization component308 can receive a security code. Once a user requests a transaction andthe transaction is authorized, transaction component 304 processes thetransaction request.

Payee component 310 is configured to retrieve account information for aspecified payee for processing of transactions. For example, a user isable to employ payee component 210 to specify a creditor or payee, towhom they desire to provide money in a transaction. In an aspect, a usercan define a list of payee's to associate with their profile and storethe list in database 216. Payee component 310 is configured to ensurerecording of payees in database 216. Payee component 310 is furtherconfigured to retrieve payee information in response to a request for atransaction between a user and a specified payee.

In another aspect, payee component 310 is configured to populatedatabase 216 with account information for a payee. According to thisaspect, a user can employ payee component 210 to determine the identityof a payee. For example, a user could employ payee component 210 tosearch for a particular payee. In an aspect, the payee is a medium sizedlumber distribution company named Lumberdownunder. A user can simplyselect Lumberdownunder as the payee for a transaction request and submitthe request to billing service/server. The user need not determine anyaccount information for Lumberdownunder because according to thisaspect, payee component 310 determines the account information. In anaspect, payee component can search database 216 to determine whetherLumberdownunder is a registered user with provided account information.If Lumberdownunder does in fact provide account information for billpay, the payee component 310 employs the recorded information for use ina transaction request. In another aspect, if Lumberdownunder does is nota registered user and does not provide account information, payeecomponent can search for account information at external systems toattempt to discover account information. Still in yet another aspect,payee component 310 can contact Lumberdownunder directly for accountinformation either by email, instant messaging, fax, or automated phonecalls. The direct contact can further include prompts to join billingservice/server and establish a profile to provide access to accountinformation for bill pay.

Paper bill component 312 is configured to receive converted paper billsform bill conversion component 124 for processing. As noted above, auser device can include a bill image component 112 that enable a deviceto receive an image of a paper bill. For example, the image of the paperbill can be generated by a camera on a user device or a scannerassociated with the user device. In another aspect, the image of thepaper bill can be received as an email attachment or an attachment to anMMS message or any other type of electronic message. Paper billcomponent 312 is configured to receive a conversion of a paper bill inan electronic form. Paper bill component is further configured todetermine appropriate processing for a converted bill.

In an aspect, paper bill component 312 is configured to retrieveinstructions regarding processing or a paper bill in accordance with auser profile and a determined payee. For example, a user can send a billimage with a selected payee associated therewith. In another aspect,bill conversion component 124 can determine a payee at the time ofconversion. Upon receipt of the converted bill, paper bill component caninstruct transaction component 306 to perform electronic payment of thebill. In another aspect, paper bill component can be configured toupdate account information for a user by creating electronic data forthe user and the particular payee. In turn, the electronic form of thebill can be posted to a user's profile and stored in database 216.According to this aspect, a user can later manage the original paperbill for processing in accordance with existing electronic accounts. Inanother aspect, paper bill component 312 is configured to create areceipt associated with processing a received converted image of a paperbill. For example, the paper bill component 312 can be configured toestablish account information in an electronic form a user and theparticular payee of the paper bill for record keeping purposes.

In view of the example system(s) and apparatuses described above,example method(s) that can be implemented in accordance with thedisclosed subject matter can be better appreciated with reference toflowcharts of FIGS. 4-12. For purposes of simplicity of explanation,example methods disclosed herein are presented and described as a seriesof acts; however, it is to be understood and appreciated that theclaimed subject matter is not limited by the order of acts, as some actsmay occur in different orders and/or concurrently with other acts fromthat shown and described herein. For example, one or more examplemethods disclosed herein could alternatively be represented as a seriesof interrelated states or events, such as in a state diagram. Moreover,interaction diagram(s) may represent methods in accordance with thedisclosed subject matter when disparate entities enact disparateportions of the methodologies. Furthermore, not all illustrated acts maybe required to implement a described example method in accordance withthe subject specification. Further yet, two or more of the disclosedexample methods can be implemented in combination with each other, toaccomplish one or more features or advantages herein described. Itshould be further appreciated that the example methods disclosedthroughout the subject specification are capable of being stored on anarticle of manufacture to allow transporting and transferring suchmethods to computers for execution, and thus implementation, by aprocessor or for storage in a memory.

FIG. 4 presents a flow chart of a processes 400 processing payment of apaper invoice in accordance with an embodiment. In particular, process400 demonstrates cooperating processes at both the user device and thebilling service. Beginning with the user device at 402 a user can openup billing service application at her user device. For example, the usercan have previously installed billing service application at her userdevice. At 404, the user can register with the billing service if notpreviously registered. For example, the user can develop a profileconsisting of a user name and password and basic information regardingthe user. If the user has already established a profile, the user canmerely enter her user name and password at step 404. Still in yetanother aspect, a user and authorize automatic login when opening thebilling service application at a known device in subsequent sessions.According, to process 400, we can assume a user has previouslyregistered with billing service and established a profile. The profilecan associate a plurality of accounts for the user including banking,credit, and creditor accounts for the user.

At 406, the user can then request an electronic bill. For example, auser can request an electronic bill when a user merely has a paper formof a bill. Be requesting an electronic bill at 406, the user caninitiate processing of the paper bill in an electronic manner. At 408,an electronic image of the paper bill is received in response to therequest. For example, when a user requests an electronic bill, the usercan be prompted with a notification to supply an image of the paperbill. The user must then provide an image of the paper bill. In anaspect, the user can employ her user device to take a picture of thepaper bill and then upload the picture. In another aspect, the user canreceive a picture at her device as an attachment to an email or an MMSmessage. In another aspect, the user can receive an image of paper billvia a scanner associated with her device.

Once an image of a bill has been received, at 410, the user can thenselect a payee. Selection of a payee can be accomplished in severalways. In an aspect, a user can manually enter the name and accountinformation of the payee provided on the paper form of the bill. Inanother aspect, the user can simply employ a preconfigured list ofpayees associated with a user profile. For example, the user canestablish a profile comprising a list of payees and information relatedto processing payments to the payees. The information can include thepayee account number, the user account number from which to transferfunds out of, and at least some identifier linking the user to thepayee. Still in yet another aspect, a user can select a payee that isnot previously associated with a user profile. In an aspect a user cansearch for registered payees an employ information previously providedto billing service and stored in a database. In another aspect, a usercan search for unregistered payees and attempt to receive accountinformation for processing of payment for the unregistered selectedpayees. According to this aspect, if a user selects an unregisteredpayee, the user can authorize a payment to the payee, however whether ornot the payment is processed dependent upon billing service to laterdetermine the payee account information.

Once a payee is selected, at 412, a user can authorize a transaction.For example, the user can authorize payment of the bill represented bythe bill image. In another aspect, the user can authorize scheduledpayments of the bill represented by the bill image. However, in order tocomplete a request for an authorized transaction, at 414 the user mustsend the electronic image of the paper bill to the billing service forprocessing. According to an embodiment, once the user device transmitsthe electronic bill to the billing service, the user fulfils his paymentobligations. In other words, the user submits a payment by sending theimage of the bill.

At 416, the billing service receives the electronic bill image. At 418,the billing service identifies a user account/profile. In an aspect, thebilling service can identify a user account by the phone number, emailaddress, or IP address associated with the transmission of the billimage. At 420, the billing service prepares an electronic form of thebill. For example, the billing service can convert aspects of the billimage into an electronic form. The conversion can include recognition ofnecessary fields such as total amount owed and due date. In anotheraspect, the conversion can identify a plurality of fields including itemprice, total price, addresses, dates, account numbers etc. The billingservice then employs the recognized information to prepare an electronicform of the bill. Still in yet another aspect, preparation of anelectronic form of the bill merely includes associating the image of thebill with payee and storing the electronic information. The storedinformation can further include additional information such as datepaid, and payee information gathered by the billing service. The payeeinformation can have been previously provided to and stored by thebilling service. In another aspect, the billing service can retrievepayee account information from external sources.

Regardless of the manner and form in which an electronic form of billimage is analyzed, at 422, payment of the electronic bill form isprocess electronically. In other words, at 422, electronic transfer ofmoney is made to the payee from a user account. When a user has morethan one account, in an aspect, billing service is able to determine theappropriate account according to pre-determined parameters associatedwith a user profile. For example, a user may specify that home relatedloan payments are to be paid out of account X, or that all paymentsprocessed after the 15^(th) of the month are to be processed out ofaccount Y. Still in yet another aspect, a user can associate aparticular account with a particular payee.

At 424, after payment has been processed, the electronic form of thebill and/or an electronic receipt associated with the payment of thebill is generated and posted to a user account. According to thisaspect, a user does not need to keep the paper records of the paperbill. On the contrary, the user is provided with an electronic record ofthe bill and account information associated with the bill. Theelectronic record can further be stored by the billing service and or bythe user device.

Returning to the user device at 426, the user device is configured toreceive a notification regarding processing of the image of the paperbill as an electronic bill. For example, when the user is logged on tothe billing service, the user can receive a visual or audible indicationnoting that payment was processed. Still, in an aspect where the user isnot logged on, the user can receive a visual or audible indicationnoting that payment was processed. The logged on user can then view theelectronic records of the bill represented by the image of the bill at428. In an aspect, the electronic records include organized generatedinformation regarding the user's account with the payee. In anotheraspect, the electronic records can include information such as anelectronic receipt indicating the date of payment, what was paid, whatwas paid for, who was paid, and the accounts associated with payment.Still in yet another embodiment, the electronic records can includelimited generated information such as the user's account and the payee,the date of payment, and the actually electronic image of the bill paid.Finally, at 430, a user can log out of the billing service applicationat her device. It should be appreciated that at any time during process400, a user can log out and log back in to continue process 400 where itwas left at the time of logging out.

FIG. 5 presents a method 500 for processing a paper bill in anelectronic form at a user device in accordance with an embodiment. At510 an electronic image representative of an invoice associated with auser of a computing device and a payee is received at a computingdevice. For example, the computing device can include a cellular phonewith a camera. A user can use the camera to take a picture of a paperinvoice and upload the picture to a billing/accounting serviceapplication. At 520, the electronic image of the invoice is sent to anonline accounting system, wherein the online accounting system convertsthe electronic image of the invoice into an electronic form. Accordingto an aspect, prior to sending the electronic image of the invoice, auser can select a payee from a list of payees and sent the selection tothe accounting system. Accordingly, when the online accounting systemreceives the electronic image, the accounting system can associate theuser, the invoice, and the payee. At 530, accounts associated with theuser of the device are accessed. For example, the user can view heraccounts by using the online accounting system application on herdevice. In addition, at 540, the electronic form of the invoice isaccessed. Lastly, at 550, payment of the invoice is authorized,including authorizing electronic transfer of money from at least one ofthe accounts to the payee. In an aspect, the user can authorize paymentby sending in the electronic image of the invoice in conjunction withselection of the payee.

FIG. 6 presents a method 600 for processing a paper bill in anelectronic form at a server/billing service in accordance with anembodiment. At 610 a computing device associated with a user of anonline accounting system is registered with the online accountingsystem. At 620, information regarding accounts associated with the useris stored. For example, the accounting server/service can store aplurality of banking accounts, credit accounts and creditor accounts fora user. The information can include account numbers, account balances,and account activity. At 630, an electronic image representative of aninvoice associated with the user and a payee is received from thecomputing device. At 640, the electronic image of the invoice isconverted into an electronic form. At 650, the electronic form of theinvoice is posted to the online accounting system. At 660, the user isprovided access to the electronic form of the invoice, and at 670,payment of the invoice is processed, including transferring money fromat least one of the accounts to the payee. For example payment of theinvoice can be processed in response to a request by the user/userdevice. In an aspect, the request includes simply receiving theelectronic image of the paper invoice.

FIG. 7 presents a flow chart of a processes 700 processing payment of apaper invoice in accordance with an embodiment. In particular, process700 demonstrates cooperating processes at both the user device and thebilling service. Beginning with the user device at 702 a user can openup billing service application at her user device. For example, the usercan have previously installed billing service application at her userdevice. At 704, the user can register with the billing service if notpreviously registered. For example, the user can develop a profileconsisting of a user name and password and basic information regardingthe user. If the user has already established a profile, the user canmerely enter her user name and password at step 704. Still in yetanother aspect, a user and authorize automatic login when opening thebilling service application at a known device in subsequent sessions.According, to process 700, we can assume a user has previouslyregistered with billing service and established a profile. The profilecan associate a plurality of accounts for the user including banking,credit, and creditor accounts for the user.

At 706, the user can then request an electronic bill. For example, auser can request an electronic bill when a user merely has a paper formof a bill. Be requesting an electronic bill at 706, the user caninitiate processing of the paper bill in an electronic manner. At 708,an electronic image of the paper bill is received in response to therequest. For example, when a user requests an electronic bill, the usercan be prompted with a notification to supply an image of the paperbill. The user must then provide an image of the paper bill. In anaspect, the user can employ her user device to take a picture of thepaper bill and then upload the picture. In another aspect, the user canreceive a picture at her device as an attachment to an email or an MMSmessage. In another aspect, the user can receive an image of paper billvia a scanner associated with her device.

Once an image of a bill has been received, at 710, the user can thendetermine a payee. Selection of a payee can be accomplished in severalways. In an aspect, a user can manually enter the name and accountinformation of the payee provided on the paper form of the bill. Inanother aspect, the user can simply employ a preconfigured list ofpayees associated with a user profile. For example, the user canestablish a profile comprising a list of payees and information relatedto processing payments to the payees. The information can include thepayee account number, the user account number from which to transferfunds out of, and at least some identifier linking the user to thepayee. Still in yet another aspect, a user can select a payee that isnot previously associated with a user profile. In an aspect a user cansearch for registered payees and employ information previously providedto billing service and stored in an information database. According tothis aspect, billing service can import account information for thepayee in order to process the transaction. Therefore, accountinformation about a payee is not required to by viewed, known to a user.In another aspect, a user can search for unregistered payees and attemptto receive account information for processing of payment for theunregistered selected payees. According to this aspect, if a userselects an unregistered payee, the user can authorize a payment to thepayee, however whether or not the payment is processed dependent uponbilling service to later determine the payee account information. Once apayee is selected, at 712 the user can send the electronic image of thepaper bill to the billing service for processing.

At 714, the billing service receives the electronic bill image. At 716,the billing service identifies a user account/profile. In an aspect, thebilling service can identify a user account by the phone number, emailaddress, or IP address associated with the transmission of the billimage. At 718, the billing service prepares an electronic form of thebill. For example, the billing service can convert aspects of the billimage into an electronic form. The conversion can include recognition ofnecessary fields such as total amount owed and due date. In anotheraspect, the conversion can identify a plurality of fields including itemprice, total price, addresses, dates, account numbers etc. The billingservice then employs the recognized information to prepare an electronicform of the bill. Still in yet another aspect, preparation of anelectronic form of the bill merely includes associating the image of thebill with payee and storing the electronic information. The storedinformation can further include additional information such as datepaid, and payee information gathered by the billing service. The payeeinformation can have been previously provided to and stored by thebilling service. In another aspect, the billing service can retrievepayee account information from external sources.

As noted supra, the payee is determined by the user prior to sending theelectronic image of the bill to billing service. In an aspect, thenotation of the payee is included in a message when sending the image ofthe bill to the billing service. In another aspect, the notation of thepayee for a particular bill image is associated with the user's account.For example, a notation of an electronic bill request, the time sent andthe payee for which it was sent can be stored in database 216 andassociated with a user account. Accordingly, the billing service can beprovided with the proper identity of a payee as well as the user forwhich a bill image is submitted and employ the information to generatean electronic form of the bill.

At 720, the electronic form of the bill and/or an electronic receiptassociated with the payment of the bill is generated and posted to auser account. According to this aspect, a user does not need to keep thepaper records of the paper bill. On the contrary, the user is providedwith an electronic record of the bill and account information associatedwith the bill. The electronic record can further be stored by thebilling service and or by the user device.

Returning to the user device at 722, the user device is configured toreceive a notification regarding processing of the image of the paperbill as an electronic bill. For example, when the user is logged on tothe billing service, the user can receive a visual or audible indicationnoting that payment was processed. Still, in an aspect where the user isnot logged on, the user can receive a visual or audible indicationnoting that payment was processed. The logged on user can then view theelectronic records of the bill represented by the image of the bill at724. In an aspect, the electronic records include organized generatedinformation regarding the user's account with the payee. For example,the electronic bill can provide a user with all functionality requiredto pay the bill online. In an aspect, the electronic form of the billincludes fields such as payee, amount owed, date and etc. The electronicform of the bill can further associate the user banking account with theaccount to which money is to be transferred to a payee. In an aspect,account information for either or both entities can be disguised. At726, the user can manage electronic payment of the bill. For example,the user can choose to pay the bill and thus authorize a transaction ortransfer of funds to the payee. The user can schedule routine payments,modify payment amounts, modify user account information, modify payeeaccount information, and etc. Finally, at 728, the user can log out ofthe billing service application at her device. It should be appreciatedthat at any time during process 700, a user can log out and log back into continue process 700 where it was left at the time of logging out.

FIG. 8 presents a method 800 for processing a paper bill in anelectronic form at a user device in accordance with an embodiment. At810 an electronic image representative of an invoice associated with auser of a computing device and a payee is received at a computingdevice. For example, the computing device can include a cellular phonewith a camera. A user can use the camera to take a picture of a paperinvoice and upload the picture to a billing/accounting serviceapplication. At 820, a list of payees is received. For example, a usercan access a list of payees generated through a searching mechanism, orview a list of payees from a drop down menu. At 840, the user can selecta payee from the list of payees. For example, the user can select thepayee that is pictured on the electronic image of the invoice or forwhom the paper invoice is associated. At 840, the user can send theselection of the payee to an online accounting system wherein the onlineaccounting system links the payee to the invoice. At 850, the electronicimage of the invoice is sent to the online accounting system, whereinthe online accounting system converts the electronic image of theinvoice into an electronic form. At 860, accounts associated with theuser of the device are accessed. For example, the user can view heraccounts by using the online accounting system application on herdevice. In addition, at 870, the electronic form of the invoice isaccessed. Lastly, at 880, payment of the invoice is authorized,including authorizing electronic transfer of money from at least one ofthe accounts to the payee.

FIG. 9 presents a method 900 for processing a paper bill in anelectronic form at a server/billing service in accordance with anembodiment. At 910 a computing device associated with a user of anonline accounting system is registered with the online accountingsystem. At 920, information regarding accounts associated with the useris stored. For example, the accounting server/service can store aplurality of banking accounts, credit accounts and creditor accounts fora user. The information can include account numbers, account balances,and account activity. At 930, a list of payees is provided to thedevice. For example, the device can view a dropdown list of possiblepayees to select for processing of a transaction associated with payingthe invoice. At 940, the selection of a payee is from the list isreceived. At 940, an electronic image representative of an invoiceassociated with the user and the payee is received. At 950, the onlineaccounting system links the payee to the invoice. For example, theonline accounting system can determine the sender of the payeeinformation and link the payee information to the senders account. In anaspect, the online accounting system can link the payee to the invoiceby associate the payee with the invoice when received at substantiallythe same time.

At 960, an electronic image representative of an invoice associated withthe user and a payee is received from the computing device. At 970, theelectronic image of the invoice is converted into an electronic form. At980, the electronic form of the invoice is posted to the onlineaccounting system. At 990, the user is provided access to the electronicform of the invoice, and at 1000, payment of the invoice is processed,including transferring money from at least one of the accounts to thepayee. For example payment of the invoice can be processed in responseto a request by the user/user device.

FIG. 10 presents a flow chart of a processes 1000 processing payment ofa paper invoice in accordance with an embodiment. In particular, process1000 demonstrates cooperating processes at both the user device and thebilling service. Beginning with the user device at 1002 a user can openup billing service application at her user device. For example, the usercan have previously installed billing service application at her userdevice. At 1004, the user can register with the billing service if notpreviously registered. For example, the user can develop a profileconsisting of a user name and password and basic information regardingthe user. If the user has already established a profile, the user canmerely enter her user name and password at step 1004. Still in yetanother aspect, a user and authorize automatic login when opening thebilling service application at a known device in subsequent sessions.According, to process 1000, we can assume a user has previouslyregistered with billing service and established a profile. The profilecan associate a plurality of accounts for the user including banking,credit, and creditor accounts for the user.

At 1006, the user can then request an electronic bill. For example, auser can request an electronic bill when a user merely has a paper formof a bill. Be requesting an electronic bill at 1006, the user caninitiate processing of the paper bill in an electronic manner. At 1008,an electronic image of the paper bill is received in response to therequest. For example, when a user requests an electronic bill, the usercan be prompted with a notification to supply an image of the paperbill. The user must then provide an image of the paper bill. In anaspect, the user can employ her user device to take a picture of thepaper bill and then upload the picture. In another aspect, the user canreceive a picture at her device as an attachment to an email or an MMSmessage. In another aspect, the user can receive an image of paper billvia a scanner associated with her device. Once an image of a bill hasbeen received, at 1010, the user can send the electronic image of thepaper bill to the billing service for processing.

At 1012, the billing service receives the electronic bill image. At1016, the billing service identifies a user account/profile. In anaspect, the billing service can identify a user account by the phonenumber, email address, or IP address associated with the transmission ofthe bill image. At 1014, the billing service prepares an electronic formof the bill. For example, the billing service can convert aspects of thebill image into an electronic form. The conversion can includerecognition of necessary fields such as total amount owed and due date.In another aspect, the conversion can identify a plurality of fieldsincluding item price, total price, addresses, dates, account numbersetc. The billing service then employs the recognized information toprepare an electronic form of the bill. Still in yet another aspect,preparation of an electronic form of the bill merely includesassociating the image of the bill with a user storing the electronicinformation. At 1018, the electronic form of the bill is posted to theuser's account. According to this aspect, a user does not need to keepthe paper records of the paper bill. On the contrary, the user isprovided with an electronic record of the bill and account informationassociated with the bill. The electronic record can further be stored bythe billing service and or by the user device.

Returning to the user device at 1020, the user device is configured toreceive a notification regarding processing of the image of the paperbill as an electronic bill. For example, when the user is logged on tothe billing service, the user can receive a visual or audible indicationnoting that payment was processed. Still, in an aspect where the user isnot logged on, the user can receive a visual or audible indicationnoting that payment was processed. The logged on user can then view theelectronic records of the bill represented by the image of the bill at1022. In an aspect, the electronic records include organized generatedinformation regarding the user's account with the payee. For example,the electronic bill can provide a user with all functionality requiredto pay the bill online. In an aspect, the electronic form of the billincludes fields such as payee, amount owed, date and etc. The electronicform of the bill can further associate the user banking account with theaccount to which money is to be transferred to a payee. In an aspect,account information for either or both entities can be disguised.

In an aspect where the payee cannot be recognized at conversion of thebill or the electronic image of the bill is merely posted to the user'saccount, at 1024, the user can select the payee. Selection of a payeecan be accomplished in several ways. In an aspect, a user can manuallyenter the name and account information of the payee provided on thepaper form of the bill. In another aspect, the user can simply employ apreconfigured list of payees associated with a user profile. Forexample, the user can establish a profile comprising a list of payeesand information related to processing payments to the payees. Theinformation can include the payee account number, the user accountnumber from which to transfer funds out of, and at least some identifierlinking the user to the payee. Still in yet another aspect, a user canselect a payee that is not previously associated with a user profile. Inan aspect a user can search for registered payees an employ informationpreviously provided to billing service and stored in a database. Inanother aspect, a user can search for unregistered payees and attempt toreceive account information for processing of payment for theunregistered selected payees. According to this aspect, if a userselects an unregistered payee, the user can authorize a payment to thepayee, however whether or not the payment is processed dependent uponbilling service to later determine the payee account information.

Following selection of the payee, the user can manage electronic paymentof the bill at 1026. For example, the user can choose to pay the billand thus authorize a transaction or transfer of funds to the payee. Theuser can schedule routine payments, modify payment amounts, modify useraccount information, modify payee account information, and etc. Finally,at 1028, the user can log out of the billing service application at herdevice. It should be appreciated that at any time during process 1000, auser can log out and log back in to continue process 1000 where it wasleft at the time of logging out.

FIG. 11 presents a method 1100 for processing a paper bill in anelectronic form at a user device in accordance with an embodiment. At1110 an electronic image representative of an invoice associated with auser of a computing device and a payee is received at a computingdevice. For example, the computing device can include a cellular phonewith a camera. A user can use the camera to take a picture of a paperinvoice and upload the picture to a billing/accounting serviceapplication. At 1120, the electronic image of the invoice is sent to theonline accounting system, wherein the online accounting system convertsthe electronic image of the invoice into an electronic form. At 1130,accounts associated with the user of the device are accessed. Forexample, the user can view her accounts by using the online accountingsystem application on her device. In addition, at 1140, the electronicform of the invoice is accessed. Then at 1150 a list of payees isreceived. For example, a user can access a list of payees generatedthrough a searching mechanism, or view a list of payees from a drop downmenu. At 1160, the user can select a payee from the list of payees. Forexample, the user can select the payee that is pictured on theelectronic image of the invoice or for whom the paper invoice isassociated. At 1170, the user can send the selection of the payee to anonline accounting system wherein the online accounting system links thepayee to the invoice. Lastly, at 1180, payment of the invoice isauthorized, including authorizing electronic transfer of money from atleast one of the accounts to the payee.

FIG. 12 presents a method 1200 for processing a paper bill in anelectronic form at a server/billing service in accordance with anembodiment. At 1210 a computing device associated with a user of anonline accounting system is registered with the online accountingsystem. At 1220, information regarding accounts associated with the useris stored. For example, the accounting server/service can store aplurality of banking accounts, credit accounts and creditor accounts fora user. The information can include account numbers, account balances,and account activity. At 1230, an electronic image representative of aninvoice associated with the user and a payee is received from thecomputing device. At 1240, the electronic image of the invoice isconverted into an electronic form. At 1250, the electronic form of theinvoice is posted to the online accounting system. At 1260, the user isprovided access to the electronic form of the invoice.

At 1270, a list of payees is provided to the device. For example, thedevice can view a dropdown list of possible payees to select forprocessing of a transaction associated with paying the invoice. At 1280,the selection of a payee is from the list is received. 1290, the onlineaccounting system links the payee to the invoice. For example, theonline accounting system can determine the sender of the payeeinformation and link the payee information to the senders account.Lastly, at 1300, payment of the invoice is processed, includingtransferring money from at least one of the accounts to the payee. Forexample payment of the invoice can be processed in response to a requestby the user/user device.

FIG. 13 provides a schematic diagram of an exemplary networked ordistributed computing environment. The distributed computing environmentcomprises computing objects 1322, 1316, etc. and computing objects ordevices 1302, 1306, 1310, 2026, 1314, etc., which may include programs,methods, data stores, programmable logic, etc., as represented byapplications 1304, 1308, 1312, 1324, 1320. It can be appreciated thatcomputing objects 1322, 1316, etc. and computing objects or devices1302, 1306, 1310, 2026, 1314, etc. may comprise different devices, suchas personal digital assistants (PDAs), audio/video devices, mobilephones, MP3 players, personal computers, laptops, etc.

Each computing object 1322, 1316, etc. and computing objects or devices1302, 1306, 1310, 2026, 1314, etc. can communicate with one or moreother computing objects 1322, 1316, etc. and computing objects ordevices 1302, 1306, 1310, 1326, 1314, etc. by way of the communicationsnetwork 1326, either directly or indirectly. Even though illustrated asa single element in FIG. 13, communications network 1326 may compriseother computing objects and computing devices that provide services tothe system of FIG. 13, and/or may represent multiple interconnectednetworks, which are not shown. Each computing object 1322, 1316, etc. orcomputing object or device 1302, 1306, 1310, 2026, 1314, etc. can alsocontain an application, such as applications 1304, 1308, 1312, 1324,1320, that might make use of an API, or other object, software, firmwareand/or hardware, suitable for communication with or implementation ofthe shared shopping systems provided in accordance with variousnon-limiting embodiments of the subject disclosure.

There are a variety of systems, components, and network configurationsthat support distributed computing environments. For example, computingsystems can be connected together by wired or wireless systems, by localnetworks or widely distributed networks. Currently, many networks arecoupled to the Internet, which provides an infrastructure for widelydistributed computing and encompasses many different networks, thoughany network infrastructure can be used for exemplary communications madeincident to the shared shopping systems as described in variousnon-limiting embodiments.

Thus, a host of network topologies and network infrastructures, such asclient/server, peer-to-peer, or hybrid architectures, can be utilized.The “client” is a member of a class or group that uses the services ofanother class or group to which it is not related. A client can be aprocess, i.e., roughly a set of instructions or tasks, that requests aservice provided by another program or process. The client processutilizes the requested service without having to “know” any workingdetails about the other program or the service itself.

In client/server architecture, particularly a networked system, a clientis usually a computer that accesses shared network resources provided byanother computer, e.g., a server. In the illustration of FIG. 13, as anon-limiting example, computing objects or devices 1302, 1306, 1310,2026, 1314, etc. can be thought of as clients and computing objects1322, 1316, etc. can be thought of as servers where computing objects1322, 1316, etc., acting as servers provide data services, such asreceiving data from client computing objects or devices 1302, 1306,1310, 2026, 1314, etc., storing of data, processing of data,transmitting data to client computing objects or devices 1302, 1306,1310, 1326, 1314, etc., although any computer can be considered aclient, a server, or both, depending on the circumstances. Any of thesecomputing devices may be processing data, or requesting services ortasks that may implicate the shared shopping techniques as describedherein for one or more non-limiting embodiments.

A server is typically a remote computer system accessible over a remoteor local network, such as the Internet or wireless networkinfrastructures. The client process may be active in a first computersystem, and the server process may be active in a second computersystem, communicating with one another over a communications medium,thus providing distributed functionality and allowing multiple clientsto take advantage of the information-gathering capabilities of theserver. Any software objects utilized pursuant to the techniquesdescribed herein can be provided standalone, or distributed acrossmultiple computing devices or objects.

In a network environment in which the communications network 1326 or busis the Internet, for example, the computing objects 1322, 1316, etc. canbe Web servers with which other computing objects or devices 1302, 1306,1310, 2026, 1314, etc. communicate via any of a number of knownprotocols, such as the hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP). Computingobjects 1322, 1316, etc. acting as servers may also serve as clients,e.g., computing objects or devices 1302, 1306, 1310, 2026, 1314, etc.,as may be characteristic of a distributed computing environment.

As mentioned, advantageously, the techniques described herein can beapplied to any device where it is desirable to facilitate sharedshopping. It is to be understood, therefore, that handheld, portable andother computing devices and computing objects of all kinds arecontemplated for use in connection with the various non-limitingembodiments, i.e., anywhere that a device may wish to engage in ashopping experience on behalf of a user or set of users. Accordingly,the below general purpose remote computer described below in FIG. 26 isbut one example of a computing device.

Although not required, non-limiting embodiments can partly beimplemented via an operating system, for use by a developer of servicesfor a device or object, and/or included within application software thatoperates to perform one or more functional aspects of the variousnon-limiting embodiments described herein. Software may be described inthe general context of computer-executable instructions, such as programmodules, being executed by one or more computers, such as clientworkstations, servers or other devices. Those skilled in the art willappreciate that computer systems have a variety of configurations andprotocols that can be used to communicate data, and thus, no particularconfiguration or protocol is to be considered limiting.

FIG. 14 illustrates a schematic block diagram of an exemplary device1400 capable of employing the subject system in accordance with someembodiments of the invention. The device is a mobile handset 1400 Inorder to provide additional context for various aspects thereof, FIG. 14and the following discussion are intended to provide a brief, generaldescription of a suitable environment 1400 in which the various aspectscan be implemented. While the description includes a general context ofcomputer-executable instructions, those skilled in the art willrecognize that the innovation also can be implemented in combinationwith other program modules and/or as a combination of hardware andsoftware.

Generally, applications (e.g., program modules) can include routines,programs, components, data structures, etc., that perform particulartasks or implement particular abstract data types. Moreover, thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that the inventive methods can bepracticed with other system configurations, including single-processoror multiprocessor systems, minicomputers, mainframe computers, as wellas personal computers, hand-held computing devices, microprocessor-basedor programmable consumer electronics, and the like, each of which can beoperatively coupled to one or more associated devices.

A computing device can typically include a variety of computer-readablemedia. Computer readable media can be any available media that can beaccessed by the computer and includes both volatile and non-volatilemedia, removable and non-removable media. By way of example and notlimitation, computer-readable media can comprise computer storage mediaand communication media. Computer storage media includes both volatileand non-volatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in anymethod or technology for storage of information such ascomputer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules orother data. Computer storage media can include, but is not limited to,RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD ROM,digital video disk (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magneticcassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magneticstorage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store thedesired information and which can be accessed by the computer.

Communication media typically embodies computer-readable instructions,data structures, program modules or other data in a modulated datasignal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism, and includesany information delivery media. The term “modulated data signal” means asignal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed insuch a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example,and not limitation, communication media includes wired media such as awired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such asacoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media. Combinations of the anyof the above should also be included within the scope ofcomputer-readable media.

The handset 1400 includes a processor 1402 for controlling andprocessing all onboard operations and functions. A memory 1404interfaces to the processor 1402 for storage of data and one or moreapplications 1406 (e.g., a video player software, user feedbackcomponent software, . . . ). Other applications can include voicerecognition of predetermined voice commands that facilitate initiationof the user feedback signals. The applications 1406 can be stored in thememory 1404 and/or in a firmware 1408, and executed by the processor1402 from either or both the memory 1404 or/and the firmware 1408. Thefirmware 1408 can also store startup code for execution in initializingthe handset 1400. A communications component 1410 interfaces to theprocessor 1402 to facilitate wired/wireless communication with externalsystems, e.g., cellular networks, VoIP networks, and so on. Here, thecommunications component 1410 can also include a suitable cellulartransceiver 1411 (e.g., a GSM transceiver) and an unlicensed transceiver1413 (e.g., WiFi, WiMax) for corresponding signal communications. Thehandset 1400 can be a device such as a cellular telephone, a PDA withmobile communications capabilities, and messaging-centric devices. Thecommunications component 1410 also facilitates communications receptionfrom terrestrial radio networks (e.g., broadcast), digital satelliteradio networks, and Internet-based radio services networks.

The handset 1400 includes a display 1412 for displaying text, images,video, telephony functions (e.g., a Caller ID function), setupfunctions, and for user input. The display 1412 can also accommodate thepresentation of multimedia content (e.g., music metadata, messages,wallpaper, graphics, . . . ). A serial I/O interface 1414 is provided incommunication with the processor 1402 to facilitate wired and/orwireless serial communications (e.g., USB, and/or IEEE 1394) through ahardwire connection, and other serial input devices (e.g., a keyboard,keypad, and mouse). This supports updating and troubleshooting thehandset 1400, for example. Audio capabilities are provided with an audioI/O component 1416, which can include a speaker for the output of audiosignals related to, for example, indication that the user pressed theproper key or key combination to initiate the user feedback signal. Theaudio I/O component 1416 also facilitates the input of audio signalsthrough a microphone to record data and/or telephony voice data, and forinputting voice signals for telephone conversations.

The handset 1400 can include a slot interface 1418 for accommodating aSIC (Subscriber Identity Component) in the form factor of a cardSubscriber Identity Module (SIM) or universal SIM 1414, and interfacingthe SIM card 1414 with the processor 1402. However, it is to beappreciated that the SIM card 914 can be manufactured into the handset1400, and updated by downloading data and software thereinto.

The handset 1400 can process IP data traffic through the communicationcomponent 1410 to accommodate IP traffic from an IP network such as, forexample, the Internet, a corporate intranet, a home network, a personarea network, etc., through an ISP or broadband cable provider. Thus,VoIP traffic can be utilized by the handset 1400 and IP-based multimediacontent can be received in either an encoded or decoded format.

A video processing component 1414 (e.g., a camera) can be provided fordecoding encoded multimedia content. The handset 1400 also includes apower source 1424 in the form of batteries and/or an AC power subsystem,which power source 1424 can interface to an external power system orcharging equipment (not shown) by a power I/O component 1426.

The handset 1400 can also include a video component 1430 for processingvideo content received and, for recording and transmitting videocontent. A location tracking component 932 facilitates geographicallylocating the handset 1400. As described hereinabove, this can occur whenthe user initiates the feedback signal automatically or manually. A userinput component 1434 facilitates the user initiating the qualityfeedback signal. The input component can include such conventional inputdevice technologies such as a keypad, keyboard, mouse, stylus pen, andtouch screen, for example.

Referring again to the applications 1406, a hysteresis component 1436facilitates the analysis and processing of hysteresis data, which isutilized to determine when to associate with the access point. Asoftware trigger component 1438 can be provided that facilitatestriggering of the hysteresis component 1438 when the WiFi transceiver1413 detects the beacon of the access point. A SIP client 940 enablesthe handset 1400 to support SIP protocols and register the subscriberwith the SIP registrar server. The applications 1406 can also include aclient 1442 that provides at least the capability of discovery, play andstore of multimedia content, for example, music.

The handset 1400, as indicated above related to the communicationscomponent 910, includes an indoor network radio transceiver 1413 (e.g.,WiFi transceiver). This function supports the indoor radio link, such asIEEE 802.11, for the dual-mode GSM handset 1400. The handset 1400 canaccommodate at least satellite radio services through a handset that cancombine wireless voice and digital radio chipsets into a single handhelddevice.

With reference to now FIG. 15, an exemplary remote device forimplementing one or more non-limiting embodiments includes a generalpurpose computing device in the form of a computer 1516. Components ofcomputer 1516 may include, but are not limited to, a processing unit1504, a system memory 1502, and a system bus 1506 that couples varioussystem components including the system memory to the processing unit1504.

Computer 1516 typically includes a variety of computer readable mediaand can be any available media that can be accessed by computer 1516.The system memory 1502 may include computer storage media in the form ofvolatile and/or nonvolatile memory such as read only memory (ROM) and/orrandom access memory (RAM). Computer readable media can also include,but is not limited to, magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disk, floppydisk, magnetic strip), optical disks (e.g., compact disk (CD), digitalversatile disk (DVD)), smart cards, and/or flash memory devices (e.g.,card, stick, key drive). By way of example, and not limitation, systemmemory 1502 may also include an operating system, application programs,other program modules, and program data.

A user can enter commands and information into the computer 1516 throughinput devices 1508. A monitor or other type of display device is alsoconnected to the system bus 1506 via an interface, such as outputinterface 1512. In addition to a monitor, computers can also includeother peripheral output devices such as speakers and a printer, whichmay be connected through output interface 1512.

The computer 1516 may operate in a networked or distributed environmentusing logical connections to one or more other remote computers, such asremote computer 1512. The remote computer 1512 may be a personalcomputer, a server, a router, a network PC, a peer device or othercommon network node, or any other remote media consumption ortransmission device, and may include any or all of the elementsdescribed above relative to the computer 1516. The logical connectionsdepicted in FIG. 15 include a network, such local area network (LAN) ora wide area network (WAN), but may also include other networks/buses.Such networking environments are commonplace in homes, offices,enterprise-wide computer networks, intranets and the Internet.

As mentioned above, while exemplary non-limiting embodiments have beendescribed in connection with various computing devices and networkarchitectures, the underlying concepts may be applied to any networksystem and any computing device or system.

Also, there are multiple ways to implement the same or similarfunctionality, e.g., an appropriate application programming interface(API), tool kit, driver source code, operating system, control,standalone or downloadable software object, etc. which enablesapplications and services to take advantage of techniques providedherein. Thus, non-limiting embodiments herein are contemplated from thestandpoint of an API (or other software object), as well as from asoftware or hardware object that implements one or more aspects of theshared shopping techniques described herein. Thus, various non-limitingembodiments described herein can have aspects that are wholly inhardware, partly in hardware and partly in software, as well as insoftware.

The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean serving as an example,instance, or illustration. For the avoidance of doubt, the subjectmatter disclosed herein is not limited by such examples. In addition,any aspect or design described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarilyto be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects ordesigns, nor is it meant to preclude equivalent exemplary structures andtechniques known to those of ordinary skill in the art. Furthermore, tothe extent that the terms “includes,” “has,” “contains,” and othersimilar words are used, for the avoidance of doubt, such terms areintended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” asan open transition word without precluding any additional or otherelements.

As mentioned, the various techniques described herein may be implementedin connection with hardware or software or, where appropriate, with acombination of both. As used herein, the terms “component,” “system” andthe like are likewise intended to refer to a computer-related entity,either hardware, a combination of hardware and software, software, orsoftware in execution. For example, a component may be, but is notlimited to being, a process running on a processor, a processor, anobject, an executable, a thread of execution, a program, and/or acomputer. By way of illustration, both an application running oncomputer and the computer can be a component. One or more components mayreside within a process and/or thread of execution and a component maybe localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or morecomputers.

The aforementioned systems have been described with respect tointeraction between several components. It can be appreciated that suchsystems and components can include those components or specifiedsub-components, some of the specified components or sub-components,and/or additional components, and according to various permutations andcombinations of the foregoing. Sub-components can also be implemented ascomponents communicatively coupled to other components rather thanincluded within parent components (hierarchical). Additionally, it is tobe noted that one or more components may be combined into a singlecomponent providing aggregate functionality or divided into severalseparate sub-components, and that any one or more middle layers, such asa management layer, may be provided to communicatively couple to suchsub-components in order to provide integrated functionality. Anycomponents described herein may also interact with one or more othercomponents not specifically described herein but generally known bythose of skill in the art.

In view of the exemplary systems described infra, methodologies that maybe implemented in accordance with the described subject matter can alsobe appreciated with reference to the flowcharts of the various figures.While for purposes of simplicity of explanation, the methodologies areshown and described as a series of blocks, it is to be understood andappreciated that the various non-limiting embodiments are not limited bythe order of the blocks, as some blocks may occur in different ordersand/or concurrently with other blocks from what is depicted anddescribed herein. Where non-sequential, or branched, flow is illustratedvia flowchart, it can be appreciated that various other branches, flowpaths, and orders of the blocks, may be implemented which achieve thesame or a similar result. Moreover, not all illustrated blocks may berequired to implement the methodologies described hereinafter.

As discussed herein, the various embodiments disclosed herein mayinvolve a number of functions to be performed by a computer processor,such as a microprocessor. The microprocessor may be a specialized ordedicated microprocessor that is configured to perform particular tasksaccording to one or more embodiments, by executing machine-readablesoftware code that defines the particular tasks embodied by one or moreembodiments. The microprocessor may also be configured to operate andcommunicate with other devices such as direct memory access modules,memory storage devices, Internet-related hardware, and other devicesthat relate to the transmission of data in accordance with one or moreembodiments. The software code may be configured using software formatssuch as Java, C++, XML (Extensible Mark-up Language) and other languagesthat may be used to define functions that relate to operations ofdevices required to carry out the functional operations related to oneor more embodiments. The code may be written in different forms andstyles, many of which are known to those skilled in the art. Differentcode formats, code configurations, styles and forms of software programsand other means of configuring code to define the operations of amicroprocessor will not depart from the spirit and scope of the variousembodiments.

Within the different types of devices, such as laptop or desktopcomputers, hand held devices with processors or processing logic, andalso possibly computer servers or other devices that utilize one or moreembodiments, there exist different types of memory devices for storingand retrieving information while performing functions according to thevarious embodiments. Cache memory devices are often included in suchcomputers for use by the central processing unit as a convenient storagelocation for information that is frequently stored and retrieved.Similarly, a persistent memory is also frequently used with suchcomputers for maintaining information that is frequently retrieved bythe central processing unit, but that is not often altered within thepersistent memory, unlike the cache memory. Main memory is also usuallyincluded for storing and retrieving larger amounts of information suchas data and software applications configured to perform functionsaccording to one or more embodiments when executed, or in response toexecution, by the central processing unit. These memory devices may beconfigured as random access memory (RAM), static random access memory(SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), flash memory, and othermemory storage devices that may be accessed by a central processing unitto store and retrieve information. During data storage and retrievaloperations, these memory devices are transformed to have differentstates, such as different electrical charges, different magneticpolarity, and the like. Thus, systems and methods configured accordingto one or more embodiments as described herein enable the physicaltransformation of these memory devices. Accordingly, one or moreembodiments as described herein are directed to novel and useful systemsand methods that, in the various embodiments, are able to transform thememory device into a different state when storing information. Thevarious embodiments are not limited to any particular type of memorydevice, or any commonly used protocol for storing and retrievinginformation to and from these memory devices, respectively.

Embodiments of the systems and methods described herein facilitate themanagement of data input/output operations. Additionally, someembodiments may be used in conjunction with one or more conventionaldata management systems and methods, or conventional virtualizedsystems. For example, one embodiment may be used as an improvement ofexisting data management systems.

Although the components and modules illustrated herein are shown anddescribed in a particular arrangement, the arrangement of components andmodules may be altered to process data in a different manner. In otherembodiments, one or more additional components or modules may be addedto the described systems, and one or more components or modules may beremoved from the described systems. Alternate embodiments may combinetwo or more of the described components or modules into a singlecomponent or module.

Although some specific embodiments have been described and illustratedas part of the disclosure of one or more embodiments herein, suchembodiments are not to be limited to the specific forms or arrangementsof parts so described and illustrated. The scope of the variousembodiments are to be defined by the claims appended hereto and theirequivalents.

These computer programs (also known as programs, software, softwareapplications or code) include machine instructions for a programmableprocessor, and can be implemented in a high-level procedural and/orobject-oriented programming language, and/or in assembly/machinelanguage. As used herein, the terms “machine-readable medium”“computer-readable medium” refers to any computer program product,apparatus and/or device (e.g., magnetic discs, optical disks, memory,Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs)) used to provide machine instructionsand/or data to a programmable processor, including a machine-readablemedium.

Computing devices typically include a variety of media, which caninclude computer-readable storage media and/or communications media,which two terms are used herein differently from one another as follows.Computer-readable storage media can be any available storage media thatcan be accessed by the computer and includes both volatile andnonvolatile media, removable and non-removable media. By way of example,and not limitation, computer-readable storage media can be implementedin connection with any method or technology for storage of informationsuch as computer-readable instructions, program modules, structureddata, or unstructured data. Computer-readable storage media can include,but are not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memorytechnology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disk (DVD) or other optical diskstorage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage orother magnetic storage devices, or other tangible and/or non-transitorymedia which can be used to store desired information. Computer-readablestorage media can be accessed by one or more local or remote computingdevices, e.g., via access requests, queries or other data retrievalprotocols, for a variety of operations with respect to the informationstored by the medium.

Communications media typically embody computer-readable instructions,data structures, program modules or other structured or unstructureddata in a data signal such as a modulated data signal, e.g., a carrierwave or other transport mechanism, and includes any information deliveryor transport media. The term “modulated data signal” or signals refersto a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changedin such a manner as to encode information in one or more signals. By wayof example, and not limitation, communication media include wired media,such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless mediasuch as acoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media.

To provide for interaction with a user, the systems and techniquesdescribed here can be implemented on a computer having a display device(e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquid crystal display) monitor)for displaying information to the user and a keyboard and a pointingdevice (e.g., a mouse or a trackball) by which the user can provideinput to the computer. Other kinds of devices can be used to provide forinteraction with a user as well; for example, feedback provided to theuser can be any form of sensory feedback (e.g., visual feedback,auditory feedback, or tactile feedback); and input from the user can bereceived in any form, including acoustic, speech, or tactile input.

The systems and techniques described here can be implemented in acomputing system that includes a back end component (e.g., as a dataserver), or that includes a middleware component (e.g., an applicationserver), or that includes a front end component (e.g., a client computerhaving a graphical user interface or a Web browser through which a usercan interact with an implementation of the systems and techniquesdescribed here), or any combination of such back end, middleware, orfront end components. The components of the system can be interconnectedby any form or medium of digital data communication (e.g., acommunication network). Examples of communication networks include alocal area network (“LAN”), a wide area network (“WAN”), and theInternet.

The computing system can include clients and servers. A client andserver are generally remote from each other and typically interactthrough a communication network. The relationship of client and serverarises by virtue of computer programs running on the respectivecomputers and having a client-server relationship to each other. As usedherein, unless explicitly or implicitly indicating otherwise, the term“set” is defined as a non-zero set. Thus, for instance, “a set ofcriteria” can include one criterion, or many criteria.

The above description of illustrated embodiments of the subjectdisclosure, including what is described in the Abstract, is not intendedto be exhaustive or to limit the disclosed embodiments to the preciseforms disclosed. While specific embodiments and examples are describedherein for illustrative purposes, various modifications are possiblethat are considered within the scope of such embodiments and examples,as those skilled in the relevant art can recognize.

In this regard, while the disclosed subject matter has been described inconnection with various embodiments and corresponding Figures, whereapplicable, it is to be understood that other similar embodiments can beused or modifications and additions can be made to the describedembodiments for performing the same, similar, alternative, or substitutefunction of the disclosed subject matter without deviating therefrom.Therefore, the disclosed subject matter should not be limited to anysingle embodiment described herein, but rather should be construed inbreadth and scope in accordance with the appended claims below.

What is claimed is:
 1. A device, comprising: a memory that storesexecutable components, comprising: an invoice image component configuredto receive an electronic image representative of an invoice associatedwith a user identity determined to be associated with the device and apayee identity; a communication component configured to send theelectronic image of the invoice to an external accounting system,wherein the external accounting system converts the electronic image ofthe invoice into an electronic form; an account management componentconfigured to access accounts associated with the user identity of thedevice and access the electronic form of the invoice; and a transactioncomponent configured to authorize payment of the invoice, comprisingauthorization of an electronic transfer of money from at least one ofthe accounts to the payee identity; and a processor that facilitatesexecution of at least one of the executable components.
 2. The device ofclaim 1, wherein the executable components further comprise: a payeecomponent configured to receive a set of payee identities and send aselection of the payee identity from the set of payee identities to theexternal accounting system, wherein the external accounting system isconfigured to link the payee identity to the invoice.
 3. The device ofclaim 2, wherein the payee component is further configured to receiveinformation comprising at least one of an identity of the payeeidentity, a deposit account associated with the payee identity, or anaffiliation of the user identity with the payee identity and send theinformation to the external accounting system, wherein the externalaccounting system links the information to the invoice.
 4. The device ofclaim 3, wherein the payee component is further configured to employ anexternal data storage comprising the information to generate the set ofpayee identities.
 5. The device of claim 2, wherein the payee componentis further configured to instruct the external accounting system to linkthe payee identity to the invoice prior to the electronic imagerepresentative of the invoice being sent by the communication component.6. The device of claim 5, wherein the electronic form of the invoicecomprises a receipt indicating payment of the invoice.
 7. The device ofclaim 2, wherein the payee component is further configured to instructthe external accounting system to link the payee identity to the invoiceafter the electronic form of the invoice is accessible.
 8. The device ofclaim 1, wherein the transaction component is further configured toauthorize the payment of the invoice in response to the electronic imageof the invoice being sent by the communication component.
 9. The deviceof claim 1, further comprising: a camera configured to capture theelectronic image representative of the invoice.
 10. The device of claim1, wherein the account management component is further configured togenerate a notification message in response to a determination that theelectronic form of the invoice is accessible.
 11. A method, comprising:receiving, by a device comprising a processor, an electronic imagerepresentative of an invoice associated with a user identity determinedto be associated with the device and a payee identity; sending theelectronic image of the invoice to another device, wherein the otherdevice converts the electronic image of the invoice into an electronicform; accessing accounts associated with the user identity of thedevice; accessing the electronic form of the invoice; and authorizingpayment of the invoice comprising authorizing of an electronic transferof funds from at least one of the accounts to the payee identity. 12.The method of claim 11, further comprising: receiving a set of payeeidentities; and sending a selection of the payee identity from the setof payee identities to the other device for association of the payeeidentity to the invoice.
 13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:receiving information comprising receiving at least one of an identityof the payee identity, a deposit account associated with the payeeidentity, or an affiliation of the user identity with the payee identityand send the information to the other device; and sending theinformation to the other device for association of the information tothe invoice.
 14. The method of claim 13, further comprising: storing theinformation externally to generate the set of payee identities.
 15. Themethod of claim 12, further comprising: instructing the other device tolink the payee identity to the invoice prior to the electronic imagerepresentative of the invoice being determined to have been sent. 16.The method of claim 15, wherein the electronic form of the invoicecomprises a receipt indicating payment of the invoice.
 17. A computerreadable storage device comprising executable instructions that, inresponse to execution, cause a device comprising a processor to performoperations, comprising: receiving an electronic image representative ofan invoice associated with a user identity determined to be associatedwith the device and a payee identity; sending the electronic image ofthe invoice externally to the device for conversion of the electronicimage of the invoice into an electronic form; accessing accountsassociated with the user identity of the device and accessing theelectronic form of the invoice; and authorizing payment of the invoicecomprising authorizing of an electronic transfer of money from at leastone of the accounts to the payee identity.
 18. The computer readablestorage device of claim 17, wherein the operations further comprise:sending a selection of the payee identity from a set of payee identitiesexternally to the device to link the payee identity to the invoice. 19.The computer readable storage device of claim 17, wherein the operationsfurther comprise: sending an instruction externally to the device tolink the payee identity to the invoice after the electronic form of theinvoice is accessible; and generating a notification in response to adetermination that the electronic form of the invoice is accessible. 20.The computer readable storage device of claim 17, wherein the operationsfurther comprise authorizing the payment of the invoice in response tothe electronic image of the invoice being determined to have been sent.